The Midnight Journals
by TheMidnightWriters
Summary: Dimensions and stories come together...
1. Cole

Cole

Sat. 9:30

London:

It was a wet morning, calm and soothing. The silk sheets against my bare skin gave me comfort until I saw the time, knowing I would have to start my morning routine. I meditated and read a chapter out of my book, it seemed like a pretty normal day, besides the worry of my teammates safety, which usually they pop up somewhere, so I was hoping this would indeed be pretty average day in that sense.

My Siberian husky, Howler, hopped on to the bed after I got on to the floor to make my bathroom. Once refreshed I made my way to the drawers and closet. My dog was now up on his hind legs looking out the window. It was seventy-nine degrees today, and the sky cleared up a bit, but no promises of good weather. I put on my black short and put on my pink and grey knee-high stockings. Last came my shirt, considering I'm currently in female form, I pick a slightly bigger grey shirt so I would fit because of the extra up top.

After I strapped my sneakers, I brought a black hoodie along, just in case. I hooked up my dog to his leash, put my hair up in a pony tail, grabbed my mp3 player and was off.

The park was, as always full today, kids playing and running around, which meant I had a pretty tough time maneuvering around all of them. They would stop to pet Howler and I would end up just sitting on the bench after a half hour of jogging. I decided to get breakfast at my usual spot near the park, The Smoothie Cafe. I got my smoothie and a sandwich and made my way back to the park, since I leave Howler there with the other dogs. By the time I got back however, the other dog had left, but a guy a kneeling in front of mine, with his back facing me.

"Sasha"

The stunning blue-eyed Russian turned his head, and gave a brilliant smile. It was beautiful no doubt, but as of right now I wasn't impressed.

"Got a mission for you." He said getting up. He sat on the nearest bench and I choose to keep standing.

"Oh really? Before you tell me the mission…how have you been? It's not like I would know…"

"Cole, you're changing…"

"Yeah, I'm changing the subject, I already know the news about the sorceress, and you didn't even bother getting in touch with me for a month! I thought you were dead until Shadow told me other wise." He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you first about the Russian Mafia…"

"Um…Shadow didn't tell me about the Russian Mafia thing…"

His eyes widened. He knew if I wasn't mad about that then I was going to be pissed about this. He stood and I backed away a few steps.

"Let's go Howler." I knew Sasha wouldn't follow me. He wouldn't dare. We've been through too much for him to do something stupid like this.

But, that's life, in any dimension. At least that has not changed.

I came to this dimension from my celestial one. There the some being devote their time learning about different dimensions, the potential of our own race and others, and also protecting dimensions. I was the latter, one who wanted to preserve the human race and help gain back knowledge that they had lost. Other non-human species came to inhabit the earth in small numbers and saw humans as inferior and should be taken out of this planet.

So I came down and took human form and I can change sexes when I please for purposes of identity, but I have brown skin, green eyes, black hair, stand at 5'6, and I'm 19, we'll at least in human years. My first mission, in which I took male form I went to oppose the Russian mafia's plan to take out other countries. I ran into Sasha, who is supposed to be an ex-mafia agent, and I found out that he was a light-hearted demon, who was planning to take over the mafia to have it fall upon itself. He was found out by some vampires who resided within, and was caught. I helped him escape. He is currently twenty, with black hair, and stands at 5'7.

Shadow, another being I met went I first came here, about two years ago, is a mutant, who was taken in by a priest in London, in a Catholic orphanage and was molested at an early age. By age twelve, he had had enough and in an attempt to escape he was grabbed up the steps but push away, and ultimately causing the man's death. He disappeared for a while, and after discovering his mutant abilities (can heal himself) he became a jewel thief, who Sasha was currently hunting down, because he was working for some vampires, the same ones that had got him caught. The oldest, also 5'7 at twenty-three, Shadow sported red hair with black streaks, and light brown eyes. It hasn't changed. But, we found out that Shadow was plotting against the Vampires, and Sasha concluded:

"An enemy of my enemy is my friend."

We are embarking on a war between humans, vamps, witches, warewolves...It's a simple war to survive. Our job as the midnight guardians is to keep peace, show that difference races can come together for the greater good in this world. Just like in the one I came from. At least that is what we swore to each other two years ago.


	2. The Anderson Brothers

"Don't worry",

Donnie said, I'll finish this job. Donnie squinted his brown eyes in concentration and released his grip on the string; his arrow flies into the air and the bow gave of a low pitched tone as it headed for it's target. The cowering man had now time to react as the blur of white passed through his temple, taking his life. He slid to the floor, the arrow protruding from his skull, as the two brothers watched. Donnie released his metal bond on the bow, his black hair whirled around him; and he allowed the paper to fall apart around him. He did the same with the protruding arrow and the newly fallen papers rushed up the sleeves of his cloak.

"Stephen, take us out of here." he told his younger brother as the last of the papers where safely concealed in his clothes. Stephen did nothing; he only stared at the cadaver with wide hazel eyes in the corner.

"Let's go!" Donnie yelled as he grabbed the arm of his brother and ran for the nearest wall. Stephen snapped out of it, which allowed him and his brother to pass through the wall.

The next day

It was the twenty first of December and Christmas was only a few days way. Donnie lay on the floor with one of his books, like he does everyday. He was born with an incredible gift, to manipulate paper at his will. He first noticed this five years go when he discovered that he could read at an amazing speed. He went through books like gluttons eat food. He adjusted his black framed glasses and read his book, uninterrupted, in his greatest sanctuary, the floor.

Stephen passed through the door with the groceries he had just purchased; his brother was unaware of his presence. Stephen soon realized this and crept up behind his brother, after setting down the groceries, and yelled

"IM HOME!!!" Donnie jumped like he was shocked by an electric fence. He gazed, slightly unsettled, went back to his book and groaned

"Your back already?"

"Noooo I never left. Yeah I'm back." he was expecting a better greeting.

"Did you get the books I asked for?" Still reading.

"Yeah I got your books" Stephen replied in an annoyed tone, turned on the T.V , and jumped on the couch. Donnie sprang up from his position on the floor and ran full speed towards the bags on the counter. He searched the bags like a vulture looking for a meal before retreating three small, moderately thick books. He hugged them liked a beloved family member and rubbed them against his cheeks.

"Thank you Stephen!" He said with a voiced filled with bliss

"Those are the last books we are buying this month" Stephen replied flipping through TV channels with the remote.

"But WHY!" His brother whined.

"Because, there are a lot of reasons...we are low on money, we haven't been paid since our last assignment, and lastly, we don't need books , we need FOOD!"

"WE NEED BOOKS TOO! Books are food for the MIND!"

Stephen ignored the comment and continued to change channels, until he found the news. Even though Donnie is older by three years, Stephen is more mature. Donnie sat on the couch beside his brother to watch the news, as the reporter started to talk.

"I stand here in front of the building where local man's body was found in his room this morning. The only wound was a small hole in his temple. We assume that the murderer's weapon was a gun.

"The only clues, investigators tell us, is a small scrap of paper at the entrance to the hole." The reporter continued.

The brothers stared at each other, neither able to say anything, except, "We're in trouble" Then there was silence. They knew what was going to happen next. And right on cue, the phone rang. They turned to the phone, the new focal point of the room. Donnie raced for it before it stopped and Stephen listened, nervously pulling at his raven locks.

"H Hello?" Donnie's hand trembled as he held the phone to his ear

"I'm pretty sure you know why Im calling, don't you Donnie?" The voice on the phone said in a tone that held power.

"Donnie, who is it?" Stephen whispered.

"Mr. Smith" Donnie replied, having his hand on the lower half of the phone to keep his employer from hearing.

"Speak of the devil"

"Shh!"

"Donnie, I want you to tell me why I'm calling" Mr. Smith continued with a cold voice. "Can you do that?"

"Um..." He didn't know what to say...it was obviously meant to be a rhetorical question...

"We'll if you can't...perhaps, your brother hmm?"

"NO please I can tell you!" He blurted out quickly

"But your brother on the phone Donnie...NOW!"

Donnie flinched, before holding the phone out to Stephen. He got up and slowly moved toward the phone. He was terrified, the anticipation was two much for both of them. The trip across the carpet seemed like an eternity. With a glance between the brothers, Stephen grabbed the phone.

"H Hh Hello?"

"Hello Stephen. Do you know who this is?" Mr. Smith asked

""

"Can you tell me why I'm calling? That seems that a much easier question, doesn't it?" Stephen winced and for a quick second lost control of his powers and the phone phased through his hand. If it wasn't for the phone being connected to the receiver, it would have hit the floor.

"Are you still there?" The voice from the phone asked as the phone swung like a pendulum.

Stephen quickly snatched the phone, in the process almost banging his head into the counter, but managed to place the phone against his face.

"IM SORRY!" He cried into the phone. "I forgot to load the gun before we left, please forgive me." A laugh could be heard emanating from the phone. "So that's why Donnie had to kill the poor guy, or maybe, you didn't load the gun, cause you didn't want to kill the man."

"" Stephen had been caught.

Laughing once again was heard through the phone, "Next time Stephen, make sure Donnie has ALL of his paper when he leaves.

Stephen's eyes darted to the T.V to see a man in a lab coat in remove a smidge of paper from the dead body with a pair of tweezers.

"Sorry sir, we though we had left no evidence." The boy said whining into the phone.

"I am your employer, in Laymen's terms, Do as I say if you want to be paid. "

Donnie leaned in closer so he could hear the conversation.

"Umm...since were on the subject of pay, when will we be receiving ours? Donnie asked

"What pay! I pay for a good job, and from what I can see, you did seemed to have done less than that."

"But..."

"Have a nice day boys, and Merry Christmas! Oh and before I forget, this is a warning, do a sloppy job again, and there will be consequences."

There was a loud click on the phone.

Stephen placed the phone back on the receiver. The looked at each other with sighs of relief. They knew their boss had be generous. The total wrath of Mr. Smith had been avoided, but for how long?


	3. Sasha

**Sasha:**

I have come to the conclusion no matter what I do I always end up in complicated shit. I don't mean to do it; but I seem to always be the one doing things wrong. The woman…well…the man… the man-woman…the woman…WHAT EVER I'm in love with Cole and I don't seem to have the guts to tell, in this case, her. However I have the balls to stand up to vampires and the crazy Russian mafia; how do I do it?

I am currently walking down the street; my destination is Shadow's place. I admit I am quite the jealous type…If I have claimed it for my own, It was mine, whether the other one knew or cared or not.

Shadow and I aren't what I call, buds; we are more like acquaintances with a common ground; plus He is in love with Cole too. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.

We'll It's more of an assumption, but I know that the reason why I'm alive right now, is because of assumptions.

I am closer to the steps of the small apartment, I turn slightly to make my way up the steps, but I'm knocked off balance by a giant stack of…books? The stack wobbles and the body holding up the heap moves frantically to keep the books balanced. I step back to try to brace myself and catch falling books. He manages to keep them balanced. He shifted his head to the right of his stack with a scared expression. His brown eyes were wide with worry.

"Are you alright! I didn't mean to! I'm so…"

"Don't worry about it. Just next time, get some bags."

He nodded and I took that as an opportunity to make my way into Shadow's apartment.

I slowly entered, took of my shoes and made my way across the soft carpet floor. To meet me in the living was none other than the notorious jewel thief himself; on his laptop, and Cole on the couch, who by the looks of her was sleeping; and I just interrupted.

I got a brutal stare from Cole and a simple, too innocent greeting from the other; which meant he wanted to pour salt on my wounds.

"Hey Sasha! How everything going?" He asked still typing away on his computer.

"Could be better." I replied directing my answer to Cole.

"Really? Well guess what I'm here to make your day." He removed his hands of the keys and turned himself toward me.

"Cole gave me a mission today, and I'm in charge of getting it done. And since that's the case, guess who I made my first recruit?"

I looked at Cole who was giving a slight glare to Shadow, which did faze him one bit.

"So, you up for it." 'It will keep me out this negative vibe for a while, and besides, if I do this right, maybe she will forgive me?"

"Sure, what is our mission?"

"Simple. Hunting down the head honcho of the Russian mafia, you did get a head start."

My eyes narrowed, but then went wide, that was almost impossible, we just really, REALLY improbable.

"He is protected by thousand of men under him, and some I might ad are far from human."

"Yeah, I know but, ever heard that some of the most hidden things are usually right under our noses? Cause, I've heard from valuable sources that he is in town."

I moved over to an arm chair near Shadow and thought for a moment.

"What is this valuable source, exactly"

"_What_ is correct Sash, because I got the scoop from some old Vamps. They almost despise this guy more than the werewolves; now that's a reputation."

I knew he was right. London, like the other big cities of the world, are crawling with Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, ect.

" Apparently, you found the time to go investigating" Cole off offhandedly; interjected, expecting no answer from Shadow.

"So…he is not a Vampire…?" I asked

"Nope."

"And he's not a werewolf…?"

"Actually I have also heard, he's a human."

"WHAT!" I got up and turned to Cole for an explanation, but apparently Cole, now reading a book, was already informed.

"He can't be human, I thought he was 600 years old!"

"Nope, come to find out, the line is 600, of destined successors, years old."

"But the mafia hasn't been around for that long."

"I guess the vamps used the Russian Mafia as catalyst for the dudes "World Domination Plans"

Cole sat up. "Why would vampires work for a human?"

"She's right", I agreed, "that's impossible, the head was suppose to want the humans annihilated."

"Yeah, it seems weird, but, you never know, he might not plan to be human for long after the plan succeeds."

He had a point. As a human, of course, life would be easier, and having vampire friends to do your dirty work, was a damn good advantage. Right after everything was finished, he would become one of them. Perfect.

"Oh and, another thing…did you watch the news recently?"

"Um…no, I really didn't have the chance to."

"Well Cole suspects that someone did someone else's dirty work and that someone is connected to the recent murder choose a very interesting…weapon I believe…we'll we think…"

"What was it? A special gun? Crossbow?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow, sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his red hair.

"Far from it my friend.." He tilted his head to Cole, who raised and shifted her book toward me.

"They used a book?" Shadow and Cole exchanged glances with her black framed glasses tilted down. And Cole, deciding to speak finally, adds

"More so, the contents of the book" She sat up and opened the book and ran her fingers across the edges of the pages. It hit me…it was impossible…."paper?"

"Don't be too skeptic, because the guy is dead, and um…the person knows how to aim, however, there was some residue."

"Someone can manipulate paper." Cole added upon standing " And the type of paper, was made of more organic compounds than most paper."

"We'll to me…the only way you could possibly control paper, is if, you are around it a lot, right?" Shadow directed his question, and Cole nodded in response. The question made me think though, about the boy who I ran into earlier…he had a lot of books…correction A LOT of books…

"Possibly a devout reader…" I implied allowed.

"No doubt in my mind, but as of right now we have to find out who this head honcho is and why he killed that guy."

"What we really need to find out…" Cole counteracted, "is why you went putting yourself in dangerous territory on your own."

"Oh COME ON! I'm a professional thief!"

"You mean you're a former professional thief! Kind of like I THOUGHT Sasha was a former professional mafia agent."

"You know I wasn't really working for them BEFORE why do you think I would be now!"

"You YOURSELF were walking into dangerous territory On. Your. Own."

"I'm sorry…"

"The point is we need to find this head honcho…." Shadow began.

"Actually…we should find the killer; everything else should go relatively smooth." Cole followed

"That sounds good to me."

We didn't really know the true capabilities of the killer, but Shadow could heal himself, and its obviously paper, so he can certainly heal a paper cut. Cole and turn invisible, and I'm… extra strong, extra fast, and plus, I got guns. So we should be able to handle anything that is thrown at us, besides, once the killer runs out of paper…their defenseless.

"Ready when you are. What's our first move?"

Cole opened his mouth to speak, but Shadow cut her off.

"Calling the pizza place, I'm fucking starving."


	4. Christmas Eve pt1

Stephen jumped onto the couch with a sigh of relief. Dinner was done, Donnie was out, and he finally had time to relax. This was a rare occasion. Its not often he had time to relax, with his brother whining, things to be done, and Mr. Smith… Before he knew it, Stephen fell asleep.

"Hello Stephen, Its me, your boss, "Mr. Smith said with a grin of true malice.

"Why? Stephen cried, why did you have to kill him?"

"I warned him, I told both of you there would be consequences," Mr. Smith replied calmly, still grinning as his gaze moved to the blood figure of Donnie on the floor, his glassed broken.

Stephen fell the his knees crying. "You bastard! Why did you kill him, it wasn't his fault!" Stephen screamed in complete agony.

"Its been nice knowing you boys. You've been like the sons I never wanted, Mr. Smith said as his hand rose towards Stephen, with the gun aimed at his head.

"Donnie, I'm sorry," Stephen sobbed. He tried to activate his powers but nothing happened. His eyes widened like an animal caught in a cars head lights, and just like an animal, he knew his end was near.

"Goodbye, Stephen," Mr. Smith said, his grin gone, and was replaced with a serious face. Stephen closed his eyes. The gun have a loud bang.

Stephen hit the floor with a thud. "It was just a dream?" Stephen asked himself, breathing heavily. He stared at the ceiling fan; watching it spin.

"Um, Stephen, can you open the door for me?" Donnie asked from the other side of the door as he knocked again.

Stephen got up off the floor and opened the door to the disapproving image of his brothers body being covered by books. "When I said you could go to the library, I didn't mean that you could bring the library here, Stephen said, staring at the huge stack of books that could easily be as tall as him. Stephen backed out of the way as Donnie slid into the room.

"What was that bang I heard after I knocked?" Donnie asked his brother with a curious expression on his face as he sat the books on the floor near the couch.

"I fell off the couch," Stephen replied, his breathing had returned to its original state.

"That wasn't very smart, why did you fall off the couch?" Donnie asked before opening a book from the enormous stack.

"I was asleep on the couch, something I don't get to do very often because of your whining, until you woke me up!" Stephen said with an angry tone.

"That's nice brother, Donnie asked completely ignoring his brother. What's for dinner?" Stephen walked towards his brother and took the book he was reading away from him. This gave Donnie a clear view of a set table with food on it. Donnie's eyes quickly moved to the book.

"Hey--, I was reading that," Donnie whined as he reached for the book.

"You can have it back after you eat, Stephen scolded, taking a step back. God, I feel like your mother sometimes," he sighed.

"Ok," Donnie sighed as he sat down and began eating. Meal time, aside from the clanging of silver ware against plates, was silent. Stephen stared at his half eaten plate thinking about that nightmare. It felt so real. Donnie looked up and saw the looks of fear on Stephens face.

"Stephen, is everything ok?" Donnie asked.

"Huh?…, Yea I'm fine." Stephen replied, still playing with his food.

"Guess what tomorrow is," Donnie said whit a smile, trying to cheer up his younger brother.

"I don't know, Saturday?" Stephen replied.

"No silly, it's the twenty-fourth."

"And?"

"Stephen, today is Christmas eve!" Stephens thoughts were racing. He had forgotten about Christmas entirely. His eyes darted from his plate to the calendar on the wall.

"It's not possible, Stephen said to himself as he looked at the circled rectangle labeled Christmas. It was only two days away. Stephen jumped up from his chair and ran to his room before dropping to his knees beside his bed. Stephen had kept a secret stash of money in his bed incase of emergencies, and in his eyes, this was an emergency.

"Stephen, what are you doing?" Donnie asked from the other room.

"I'm going shopping, I'll be back later, Stephen yelled. He placed his hand on the side of the mattress, the hand gently went through the side as he searched for the money.

"But, it's eight-thirty, all of the stores will be closing soon," Donnie said confused.

"Don't worry I'll be fine," Stephen said as he continued to search with his arm. His hand felt the welcoming touch of rolled up paper. He grabbed the bundle and pulled his arm out of the mattress. "There's so little here," Stephen said to himself sadly, after flipping through the roll. He shoved the money n his pocket, grabbed his coat and headed to the door.

"What about the dishes?" Donnie asked.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them when I get back. Stephen walked hurriedly past Donnie and, being in such a panic, went through the door.

He ran as fast as he could through the streets of London, looking for a store that was still open. The loud chimes of Big Ben signaled that it was nine o clock. This unwanted sound signaled that all of the shops would be closing soon. This was the least of his problems, even if he could find a shop that was open, he couldn't afford a decent present for Donnie. Stephen, out of breath, found a bench and sat down to rest.

While he was catching his breath, Stephen noticed that he was not alone on the bench. It was dark, but, with the aid of a street light, he could tell it was a girl in her early twenties. She had brown hair, and her eyes had a green hue to them. The girl had her face buried in a laptop.

"Good evening, said the girl looking up from the screen smiling.

"Um, hello," Stephen replied being polite. Talking to girls was not one of his strengths and he became nervous whenever he talked to one. The girl's laptop made a loud click as she closed it.

"This is turning out to be most troublesome," the girl said to herself with a sigh.

" What's the problem?" Stephen asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that I'm trying to figure out the murder that happened a few days ago. Stephens eyes widened.

"Well I'm trying to find a gift for my brother for Christmas," Stephen said trying to change the subject.

"Maybe I can help you, the girl said with a smile. What is kind of things is he in to?"

"He's a book worm, but if I get him a book, I don't want to get him one he has already read.

"Hmmm…" the girl mumbled to herself thinking.

"And all of the stores are probably closed now."

"Here, the girl said, taking her glasses off her face. Give him these."

"No, I can't take your glasses."

"don't worry, there just my reading glasses, I have another pair at home."

"I have another pair at home."

"I don't know…"

"Please, I insist. The girl said.

"Well if your ok with it, Stephen said taking the glasses from the girl. Thank you so much, if there is anything I can do to repay you, Just tell--

"You don't have to do anything for me it's a gift. The girl stood up. I think that I have to go now. Those glasses are unbreakable so you don't have to hold them so tightly, she said, giggling as she looked at the glasses in Stephens hands.

"Oh, ok, Stephen said a little embarrassed.

"My name is Stephen."

"My name is Cole, the girl said as she began to walk away.

"Cole, Stephen repeated to himself as he looked at the glasses in his hands. Thanks again Cole, Stephen said, but as he looked up, there was no one there.

"Your welcome," Cole's voice echoed through the street. Stephen looked around, searching for the source of this voice. His endeavors were in vain.

"Did I just have a conversation with a ghost?" Stephen asked himself as he sat there alone on the bench. His grip on the glasses tightened.


	5. Christmas Eve pt2

Cole:

I faded into the fog on this chilling Christmas Eve, away from the boy who had enough negative Chi to almost catch me of guard. Not so much of an anger, but a deeply disturbed mind, desperate for release and ease. I was just in the middle of finding some leads about the killer...and he just happened to come in handy... in the end.

This, Stephan, had thrown me so off that I had that insane grin on my face just to get myself from fading or shifting on the spot. You see, I am a celestial being, meaning that feelings affect the anatomy, however only being on earth for so long, I sometime become subject to a Chi flow, meaning my anatomy in my state of being is affected my someone else and their current state of mind, if and only if, the flow is strong enough. Call it a very, very awkward weakness, but it's true.

It had gotten to the point that I actually attempted at starting a conversation, just to shift his energy so something wouldn't go terribly wrong. However, lying in the back of my car in front of Shadow's apartment, I realized the slight shift, when I mentioned the murder to the boy. I think, it was fact that I mentioned the killer, or…no, but he said that his brother loved books, and…okay, okay I won't jump to conclusions. However, I will keep an eye out, just in case. Being a celestial being does have its advantages.

I suppose your wondering why I'm in the backseat of my car. Well…I think better here. I guess with Shadow and Sasha constantly competing, unfortunately over me, its really hard. Though their fighting is never a full out battle, the energy that flows between them causes me to become transparent, which isn't such a bad idea at times; but _never_ in the middle of a department store. People just don't know the extent of power they can have by just feeling. Especially during Christmas; emotions are at their peak. Either people are really happy, really sad, really not interested, or really frustrated. This guy Stephan seems to be the latter, which caused me to be really uneasy and start to fade.

'I should probably tell Shadow I have a suspect…' I thought. But Sasha would be determined to find the guy first and cause serious issues. But if I don't tell, I will be just like Sasha and will be a total hypocrite. So I am forced to tell. I sit up and struggle my way out the car and hop up the stairs into the apartment. The two partners are currently on the couch watching T.V. They left me three slices of pizza and two pieces of buffalo chicken so I help myself to it. But before I get comfortable in this silent atmosphere, I push myself to speak up.

"I have a suspect for you two." My back is facing them, but I can feel there questioning stares.

"His name is Stephan."

"So what makes you think he is a suspect?" Sasha asked.

"Well, His brother likes book a lot and there was a significant change in emotions when I mentioned that I was looking for the killer."

"Well I would be shocked too if you just came out and said it." Shadow commented.

I turned around and rose and eyebrow.

"All of London is looking for the killer; the guy was Mr. Madison, a very influential and respected man., he was the head of the world relations group for Britain."

The two mouthed an 'oh' but Sasha stopped and stared at me for a moment,

"Where are your glasses?"

"I was just about to ask her that, but I though they would be on the counter with her laptop, but their not."

"And you two are worried because…"

"We'll…" They looked at each other, then Shadow spoke. Those glasses were pretty expensive…"

"I gave then to Stephan." The two squinted their eyes in confusion.

"You gave your glasses, to your suspect…OH! They have a tracking device!"

"Exactly. What you think I'm stupid?"

"No…no…just had a blonde moment."

"Right…anyway…I gave it to Stephan, but it was actually for his brother for Christmas. Apparently the boy either waited till the last minute, or was so caught up with _other _things that he completely forgot."

"Hm… so this guy likes book a lot…right?" Sasha got up of the couch and began pacing the floor. "Hm…this Stephan might just be the guy's brother, who I knocked into with the all those books. Cole do you think you could make a visit anytime soon."

"Of course." Shadow interrupted. "As soon as she opens the awesome Christmas present I got her."

'Here we go…'

"You mean stole…" Sasha responded mockingly.

"Hey! I paid for the tools to do it with!"


	6. Christmas Daypt 1

**Spencer has the plot thickening!**

**He is seriously gangsta! love ya Spence!**

**Well peoplez…sorry for the wait**

**Technical difficulties, school, and laziness…**

**But through it all we made it!**

"Did you find everything ok?" Donnie asked as he flipped though one of his library books.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I found everything." Stephan replied as he phased through the door. He had the glasses in his hand behind his book.

Stephan rested his book against the door. His grip on his glasses tightened. Um, Donnie? Stephan said as he stared at the welcome mat underneath his feet.

"'Yes?" Donnie replied after he looked up.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Well, I have read hundreds of books about ghosts. Stories and haunted houses both fiction and nonfiction, but I have never actually seen one. So I guess they can exist, it's just not very likely."

Donnie went back to reading his book.

Whenever Stephan had a question, he would as his brother. He had read so many books and retained so much information, that he could pass as a human encyclopedia.

"Why are you asking?"

"No reason." Stephan said calmly.

"Well, it's getting late, I'm going to bed it's getting late."

He walked in the direction of his bedroom and phased through the wall until he stood before his bed. He placed the glasses on his bed and searched for scissors, tape, and something to wrap the glassed in. He looked around his room for a few minutes and found all the items.

Stephan sat down at his desk and began to wrap the gift in a way that his brother wouldn't know what it was. After about twenty minutes he had finally finished. He stared at his handy work. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.

He grabbed the present and hopped on to the bed. He rolled over onto his side and place the glasses and his leftover money on his side table. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about what happened earlier.

'Did I really meet a ghost? If I did, how did she give me the glasses?'

As the though raced though his mind, along with the dream he had, Stephan fell slowly asleep. On any given day, he would have stayed awake for hours, but he was exhausted. Donnie stuck his head into his brother's room. He saw the sleeping figure of his brother and smiled.

"Good night brother." He whispered and turned off the light and returned to the book that was waiting for him on the couch. The only light on in the apartment was the lamp that aided in Donnie's reading. Its shape was that of an owl, a present that he received years ago. Donnie would read until he fell asleep as usual, but the only difference was his younger brother wasn't watching t.v. The sound of flipping pages echoed within the walls of the apartment.

Stephan awoke the next morning feeling like a great weight had been lifted. The morning had come almost as fast as sleep did. Feeling like today was a good day, Stephan jumped from the bed and got ready for the day. Dressed, he arrived in the kitchen and looked upon a sleeping Donnie who was snoring rather loudly with a book that rested on his face. Stephan laughed.

'Today was Christmas shouldn't everything be filled with bliss?' He thought, but it wasn't, not when they have the dark cloud Mr. Smith hovering over their heads. The boy's stomach growled loudly and with his arms around his middle he searched for some food. The problem was that their wasn't any food, because their was no money. There was always the idea of using the stash of money he had, but that was for emergencies only.

"I wish that Mr. Smith would have paid us for that Madison guy. We could have used the money."

Stephan turned in response to Donnie's voice from behind.

"Good morning brother, what's for breakfast?" He said with a smile.

"There's no food in this entire apartment." Stephan sighed.

"No food?"

"No, there would be if Mr. Smith just paid us."

Donnie frowned. "I'm sorry it's my fault."

"No it not! It's mine, I was the one who forgot to kill the target."

The room fell silent for what seemed like an eternity, before the phone rang suddenly.

Stephan turned around and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello Stephan is Donnie there? You both need to hear this." Mr. Smith proclaimed happily. Stephan motioned Donnie over to the phone and Donnie moved in to listen.

"Hello?"

"Hello Donnie. Now that I have both of your attentions I can tell you why I called. I have another assignment for you. In two hours a plane will be leaving for the Amazon. You two will board and the driver will meet you along with another agent. You will get your tickets at the front desk under the name of Johnson. Because of the fact that we are talking on the phone, that is all I can say at the moment You will receive the full briefing when you arrive. Don't bring any weapons or paper on to the plane, you will only draw unwanted attention to yourselves. Good luck boys, you'll need it. Oh, and a word of advice, Don't. Miss. This. Plane." Mr. Smith hung up the phone.

"What a coincidence, we need a job, and we've got one!" Donnie said trying to brighten up the mood.

Stephan put down the phone receiver.

"Yea."

"Don't worry Stephan I will be there with y…"

Donnie stopped short and stared at the door. A piece of paper slid out of his sleeve and into his hand. He put his arm behind his back as the piece of paper stood stiff, as if made of metal, and walked toward the door and peak his head into the hall. He searched around and then pulled his head into the apartment and shut the door.

"What's wrong?"

"I though I heard something." He looked confused as he turned around. Maybe it was just the wind."

'Or a ghost' Stephan thought shocked by the possibility. He quickly snapped out of it when he realized Donnie was staring at him.

"Go get ready, we've got a plane to catch." Donnie smiled


	7. Christmas Day pt 2

**YEAH!!! CHAPTER SEVEN!!!!! **

**We haven't had any reviews…or anything like that tear…**

**But I'm still hoping. **

**

* * *

  
**

Cole:

The Anderson brothers had left the house on their way to the airport, which gave me the opportunity of see what these two were really about. Since I had tapped into their phone lines earlier this morning I could send Sasha on his way to the Amazon, while Shadow when into thief mode to find out about this Mr. Smith.

Donnie had almost caught me, considering we were face to face when he had opened his apartment door. He had a pretty positive energy for someone in the position that he's in. Though seeing all the books around, I could assume that has something to do with it. And it is official Donnie is a paper manipulator…and Stephan…can turn intangible at will.

Not any threat. These still are pretty average boys who are really only in it for the profit. Nonetheless Sasha will see to it that the boys don't get hurt. 9 out of 10 they are looking for diamonds. There was just a big discovery…or is it some other reason? But diamonds sound more logical. But told not to bring paper or weapons? It seems highly suspicious. Though, nonetheless, Donnie did…as clothing of course. He is asking them to be on a mission without defenses…or he is giving it to them after they land…but paper?

I look around their apartment, noticing the open cabinets with no food and the scattered array of books. I am looking for any background on the boys, which I find in a drawer under a board in Donnie's room.

'Keeping this a secret?' I though looking at an old photo album. I open to the front and the page proclaims:

This book is for my dearest sons, Mathew, Donnie, and Stephan…

'Hold the hell on…there's actually three?"

* * *

**Shadow:**

It's Christmas day…and I'm doing what? Looking for the bastard who totally ruined my day! Don't get me wrong, I love going secret agent…but hell do I get a break, at least Christmas! No! However one good thing did come out of this…Sasha is going to be on another continent leaving me with an angel…an extremely hot angel to kick some serious ass with! And other things…

Arriving at the uptown bar I observe the high and mighty bastards of Britain. Ambassadors and representative of God knows what. And being a head journalist for a prestigious university in London for a day, they have no choice but to oblige in answering a few questions.

I look cautiously through the glass windows of the cafe before going in to see if they are not at the end of their meal. With my tape recorder and mic I smoothly show my id from my school and I'm allowed in. I casually walk over to their table near the back of the café.

Excuse me Ambassador Clark…"

"Yes."

"I am here on behalf of Nobel University. I am head journalist Jake Roberts. May I ask you a few questions on the killing of Mr. Madison sir, many of the students are devastated by the loss."

"Oh, by all means fire away."

Smith was a well-built man in his fifties. He aged very nicely, with a semi-God-like persona.

I grabbed a chair and turned on my devices.

"I am Jake Roberts of Nobel University. I am here with Ambassador Corey Clark. How are you doing this fine Christmas morning sir?"

"I am joyful Jake how about yourself?"

"I must say I am only fine sir with the passing of a great voice of Britain."

"I am joyful for I know he was a good man and that he would want people to follow his example, and not be down hearted."

"I have no question of that sir, but we are wondering about the connection that the some have made about the mission to rescue the Rainforest, and people who are being slain for the diamonds, and the killer on the very same day Madison was going to sign the ok was killed. Do you believe there is a connection like they say?"

"I do not believe that. I think it is more of the problem with America and their war going on, if we should try to help settle things or not. I believe that was his prime agenda."

"Do you think that reason stands for most of Britain? The people want to be completely out of this war?"

"I assume so, no one wants war." I nodded in response. From that moment there was a thoughtful atmosphere. However the moment was ruined by the feeling on my right thigh. '_Cole'_

"Thank you for time sir"

"No, thank you."

"Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas" I turn off my systems and strolled out the door on to the sidewalk and redialed Cole.

"What's up?"

"I should be asking you the same thing Sasha…"

"Well, interviewed Ambassador Corey Clark." I turned to the window, expecting to see the Ambassador but, he seemed to had vanished. _'that's odd…"_

"So..whatcha find out about the Paper Manipulators…"

"You mean the paper masters?"

"Um…yeah…"

"Well, Donnie is the paper master, very interesting guy, way smarter than her portrays." "plus…there was another brother, an older one, however he might be dead."

"Hm…Wow…we really got ourselves a case here."

"So do they."

"But how does this still tie into getting the enemy vampires and werewolves Cole?"

"The boys employer has to be in on it some how…"

"Why is that?"

"Because the first person who knew about the diamonds, was Saja…a vampire. He went undercover with some of the National Geographic teams as an expert…however…the findings was only supposed to be within the Higher powers of the global vampire community…"

"Hold it…Vampires are night creatures…"

"That is why they go to sorcerers."

" Blood suckers are everywhere."

"I told you…they are in it to win it."

"I wonder how Sasha is doing."

"Not better than we are gonna be because you're gonna let me treat you to lunch."

"We have are missions Shadow…"

"Yeah, and this will be one of them." I smiled triumphantly as Cole sighed in defeat.


	8. New Species or Freak of nature pt1

New species, or freak of nature

**New species, or freak of nature? Part 1**

**Enjoy!**

"That was a nice plane trip, there was hardly anyone on the plane" Donnie said.

"Yea, I was expecting a lot of screaming babies to be next to us."

"I wonder who the agent will be that's going to help us" Donnie said looking around the airport, at the many signs with different names on them, for the one that said Anderson.

"Is that it over there?" Stephen asked as he pointed to a sign saying Anderson in dark red letters.

"Well its the only Anderson in here so, that must be our ride". The two brothers walked over to a sign that was held up by a man that they had never seen before.

"Hello", said the man in a cheery voice, "you must be the Anderson's", the man winked at the brothers. I've been expecting you. Right this way please. The man place the sign under his arm and began to walk towards the one of the airport's exits.

As they passed through the double doors Stephen looked up to see a sign reading, _Welcome to the national airport of south America _in three different languages.

"Here we are", the man said as they stopped before a small, green car with a man standing in front of it.

The man was wearing a black trench coat that could almost touch the ground. The collar of the coat covered up his face up to his nose. He was wearing black sunglasses. Thanks to black gloves and boots, the only skin on his body that was visible was the bald top of his head.

"Hello!", Donnie exclaimed, "you must be the other agent", he continued before raising his arm to shake hands.

The man in black did nothing as Donnie's hand was left to hang in the air.

"He's not much of a people person" the man with the sign said with a sigh.

"Before I forget, my name is Mr. Poe."

Donnie's hand twitched before he brought it back down to his side. "Oh, like the poet!" Donnie said, turning towards Mr. Poe.

"Yes, like the poet, Mr. Poe sighed.

"My name is--"

I already know your names, and much, much, more Mr. Poe said cutting Donnie off.

The man in black turned around and opened the door to the car behind the drivers seat ,and sat down.

"It seems that we must be going now", Mr. Poe said calmly. "Well, get in the car boys."

Donnie walked around the car and got into the seat next to the man in black and Stephen got into the passenger seat next to Mr. Poe. Mr. Poe started the car and started to drive towards their destination.

"Ok, now that we are in the privacy of a car, I can tell you about your missions. Five years ago, one of our top scientists, Dr. Grigori, was doing some research. And for the sake of the mission, lets just say it was very important research. As I was saying , Dr. Grigori was doing some research, we think, that he stumbled on to something. The problem is, before we were able to use what he learned, he took all of his data, and disappeared."

"He escaped? Right out from under Mr. Smiths nose?" Donnie asked confused.

"I know its hard to believe, but yes, he took all of his work, and vanished."

"We have been searching for him since the day he left with no success. Until just recently, the front page of a newspaper, caught our eyes. Mr. Poe reached his hand between the seat and the gear stick and pulled out what looked like a news paper and handed it back to Donnie. Donnie grabbed the paper and looked at the front page.

New species of animal, or freak of nature, Donnie said aloud, as he read the caption above a picture on the front page. The picture was of what looked like a frog, but something was off about the frog. It had scales instead of slimy skin, and in its mouth stood two erect fangs.

Mr. Poe looked back at Donnie through the rear view mirror.

"Judging by the confused look on your face, you have questions about how that picture relates to your mission, don't you?" Donnie nodded his head.

"Well, I don't have the authority to answer your questions." His eyes went back to the road.

"That frog was found somewhere in the Amazon rain forest, and we have reason to believe that Dr. Grigori is there as well. Your mission, is to search through the Amazon, find Dr. Grigori, and retrieve **All** of his research."

"What should we do with Dr. Grigori?" Stephen asked.

"Do what you like with him, he is probably dead by now anyways."

The car was silent after that for a longtime, before it was broken by Donnie.

The man in black, retrieved a cigarette from his pocket and placed it into his mouth.

"Do you have any special powers?" Donnie asked, not being able to stand it any longer.

The mans head turned towards Donnie. He raised his right arm and removed the glove with his left hand. He quickly snapped his fingers, and with the blink of an eye, an eerie bluish white flame appeared on his index finger, Donnie watched as the flame danced on top of the man in blacks finger. The man raised the finger up to the cigarette and the cigarette ignited almost instantly. The man inhaled deeply before letting out a huge puff of smoke as the flame on his finger went out. Cigarette smoke drifted through the car.

"Wow, that's amazing" ,Donnie said. The car grew quiet again. Stephen starred out his window, watching the trees pass by the car.

"Ah, were here" Mr. Poe said cheerfully. Stephen looked away from the trees to a small path covered with rocks and vines.

The Car slowly came to a halt. Stephen turned around as Mr. Poe got out of the car and walked towards the trunk. The man in black and Donnie did the same. Stephen phased through the car door and walked to the trunk to join the others.

Mr. Poe opened the trunk to reveal three silver suitcases. Stephen read the writing in small black letters. From left to right, they read Donnie, Stephen, and--

The man in black had removed his suitcase before Stephen could read the name.

These suitcases hold all of the equipment you will need on this mission. The suitcases were packed according to your special 'skills.'

Donnie and Stephen both grabbed their suitcases out of the trunk of the car.

The two brothers hands went towards the locks, holding the cases shut, to open them.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", Mr. Poe said in a serious voice. "The cases cannot be unlocked until you reach you first checkpoint. When you reach this location, the cases will unlock by themselves. After the mission is over, the cases are yours to keep. Think of it as a Christmas present."

Stephens eyes widened. He had forgotten to give Donnie the glasses. They had never exchanged gifts this morning.

"Donnie put his hand on Stephens shoulder. don't worry Stephen. We can have our Christmas when we get home." Donnie was able to read peoples body language like they were books. It was as if he could read minds. Being able to use context clues, and reading between the lines, was another thing that came from reading.

The man in black began to walk through the trees.

"Where is he going?" Donnie asked.

"He has a different mission than you do. Once that mission is accomplished, he will join you on yours. Unless it has already been completed". Mr. Poe replied.

"Oh", Donnie said with a confused look on his face.

"You two better get started, you've got a hot long walk ahead of you". Mr. Poe said as he closed the trunk and got back into the car. "Just remember the picture, I think you know how to find Dr. Grigori."

Donnie nodded at Mr. Poe before the car sped off down the road.

"We better get started, Donnie said smiling."


	9. The Call session 1

**Hey pplz! Srry about the short chap! But Spencer is cooking up something so I'm gonna give him some room.**

* * *

_Following this guy is harder that I thought_. _The plane was easy but this! You've got to be kidding! I don't know how those two came to trust this character but they have got some guts. _

I changed from a monkey to my human form and called Cole to update her.

As a type of demon I am able to shape-shift which is very useful at times such as this.

Though, It was hard to maneuver through the trees, I was wounded and was trying to keep myself from falling.

_Flashback_

"_You amazing creature! What a waste to be attacking me, but such an odd sent…you are indeed fascinating!"_

_I backed up keeping my body low to the ground as I warned the vampire with a growl._

"_I wonder what else you can turn into." The man in black said with a provoking smirk._

"_Come on show us what you got?"_

_My leopard form was no match for the man in black power, so I had to think. Hmm..he can't hurt what he can see…_

_I instantly changed into mosquito fitting in with the swarms that buzzed around and fleed immediately from the seen._

"_He can turn invisible!" I heard the bloodsuckers voice shout._

"_Doubt it, but we can't see him. Nonetheless he can't stay in whatever form he's in forever, and he is injured, he has to turn back soon."_

_Flashback end_

The loud hello snapped me back

"Hey,Sasha."

"Don't EVER do that again I though you just died trying to call me!"

"Sorry, I was just…thinking…"

I heard a sigh from the other side of the phone. I knew she was frustrated so I decided to quickly change the subject.

"How are things?"

"Good, wonderful, amazing! What kinda answer are you expecting here?"

"Well…we I'm in the amazon and boys are looking for a guy named Grigori and…" I sighed "a frog with fangs."

"…..what?"

"….A frog with fangs."

"A frog with fangs? _A frog with fangs?! _hush Shadow,…Some kind of experiment?"

"Most likely by a vampire"

"but why a frog?"

"I don't know. But I didn't follow the boys though.

"WHAT!? You were supposed to follow them! What the hell where you doing the whole time then."

"Dealing with this man in black, he looked suspicious."

"You mean the other guy that was supposed to meet the boys?"

"Yeah, and he was with a Vampire"

"That's not a good sign...do the boys know that?"

"Don't think so...they are doing what he says. "

"And this "man in black" was so suspicious that you left two boys all alone in the middle of the Amazon?"

_Why did she have to say it like that?_

"We'll he met the boys at the airport and he has this ability to spontaneously combust objects with a white flame, it's weird…"

Explaining this was difficult, but what was worse was trying to convince myself and Cole that I was fine, completely…fine.

"he did some trading with the diamond vampire, gave the vamp some blood."

"Hm...diamonds for blood, seems like a sensible trade in his case."

"Yes."

"So what are you doing now?"

"…"

_I could lie…but…what is it worth? What's the point? Was it my ego…or denial?_

"I'm hiding."

"From the man in black?"

"Yes. And barely escaped."

"Does he know what you look like?"

"Not in human form, but I'm sure that vampire recognized my scent."

"That's not good. Because if you follow the boys …."

"I know. That's why I'm hiding."

"Is there a way to hide your sent, maybe, a flower or something?"

_Hell why didn't I think of that?_

"Hm…I'll get on that now."

"Do you know if this Mr. Smith has an ability? "

"No I don't, probably not. Why go through all the trouble getting people?"

"So he won't get caught."

_Those boys don't deserve this…_

"But, they are such innocent boys though. They should be enjoying their Christmas! Matter of fact so should I! But all three of us are just confused in the middle of nowhere.

I was making myself a wreck thinking about it all

"But enough about me…how is it over there?"

"How does Christmas brunch with Shadow sound?"

Suddenly, I was happy, mad, and humorously hysterical all in the same moment.

"I hope that was a rhetorical question…because I don't know if you would like the answer."


	10. New species, or freak of nature? Part 2

Chapter

The brothers had been walking through the endless forest for hours, and fatigue was beginning to show its ugly head. The only sound was the crackle of dead leaves under their feet. The brothers stayed quiet while on missions, and only spoke to give commands and strategies. The two brothers liked it this way. There were no distractions; no ringing phones; no annoying boss; no other people whatsoever. The silence gave them time to think. They were both deep in thought as they walked, until they were suddenly brought back down to Earth by loud rapid beeping coming from the cases.

"finally!" Stephen exclaimed with a sigh. "We can open these stupid cases. I was about to just phase through them and take out what was inside."

"That would have been a bad idea, Donnie stated solemnly. From what we know about the company, when Mr. Poe said "these cases are made especially for you two," I came to the conclusion that we could not have gotten into these cases even if we wanted to."

"Maybe, Stephen said confused." He raised the case to eye-level, and pressed his other hand to the case. He began to phase through the case, before an odd force repelled his previously-intangible hand.

"Told you, Donnie said smugly." He laid his case on the ground, opened it, and began to see what was inside. Stephen did the same. Unsurprisingly enough, Donnie's case contained paper. Stephen's case, on the other hand, surprised both of them. It contained an odd looking hand gun, a silencer, ammunition, and a pair of sunglasses. "I can understand the gun, and the ammo, but why the sunglasses?"

"To look cool, Stephen replied with a smile as he picked up the glasses to try them on. Whoa! He exclaimed when he put the glasses on his face."

"What is it?" Donnie asked worriedly.

"It's like the lenses are computer screens. Hey, it even has a thermal mode!" Stephen pressed a button on the top of the rim of the glasses and looked at Donnie. Donnie's image turned from full color picture to silloette of greens and blues. Stephen scanned the area with his eyes to play with the glasses more, when something caught his eyes. On a few of the vines in front of the brothers, were large raflessia plants, but something was different about them. Instead of a blue-green color like the other trees and plants, their image was a bright red-orange color. There were also small vein-like markings of the same color spreading from the flowers through the vine. "Donnie, take a look at this, Stephen said while handing the glasses to his brother."

"I think we've found our frog, Donnie said with a smile."

"What?" Stephen asked confused.

"Oh, its nothing. Come on, lets get going." Donnie closed his case and began walking towards the flowers. Stephen followed him. With gun and paper in hand, the brothers felt invincible.

*****

The brothers had been following the trail of winding plants for a while now, and the vein-like roots were beginning to merge with each other until only a few large roots remained.

"It seams like we are getting closer, Donnie said. The roots are beginning to come together. We will probably reach our destination soon."

The two brothers continued to follow the vines until they stood before a rundown shack covered in vines and leaves. On the roof, stood a gargantuan raflessia plant. Donnie removed the glasses and handed them to Stephen as they both stepped towards the door of the rundown shack.

"Are you ready?" Donnie asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Stephen replied as he loaded new gun.

Donnie placed his hand on the rusty door knob and turned it. The door swung open with a loud creaking noise. The two brothers stepped into the shack and were dumbfounded by what they saw. There were beakers and vials filled with dark, bubbling liquids. There were numerous computer towers and monitors showing weird charts and numbers.

"I guess that this is where the doctor lives," Stephen said.

"Yea, but I think he's not here right now," Donnie sighed before turning around to face his younger brother who was staring at his shoes. "Let's just wait here until he ---- Donnie stopped. His eyes went from his brother to the rafters above him. Right above his brother, was a wolf-like creature with a large pair of red eyes.

"Donnie, what is it?"

"Stephen, phase now!" Donnie screamed as the dark figure leapt down from the rafters. Donnie undid the latch on his case and flung it at the figure. It smashed into the monster with a bang. The creature was propelled back from the impact, and the case opened releasing a flurry of paper. Before the creature could leap for a second attack, Donnie raised his arm and the paper in the air froze, faced the creature, and flew at it. The creature was covered with the paper, and was pinned against the wall.

Stephen turned around and opened his eyes to see what was making that awful muffled growling noise behind him. The figure appeared to be shrinking as it wriggled around in its paper cocoon.

"Donnie, is that the doctor?" Stephen asked in a whisper.

"There's only one way to find out," Donnie replied as he flicked his wrist at the cocoon, causing the paper around the head of the creature to fall away. The scarred face of a man in his fifty's was now starring at the brothers.

"Are you two from the company?" The man asked in a very calm voice. The brothers were shocked with the same thought. Was this person the same thing that just attacked us? The brothers said nothing. "Judging by what I just saw you do, I want to say that you are from the company, Mr. Smith sent you here, and you're here to take my research?"

"Yes, all of that is true," Donnie said in a cold voice. He raised his arms as paper flowed from his sleeves. The paper materialized into the shape of a bow and arrow. "Where is the research?" Donnie asked in the same tone.

"Let me guess…If I don't tell you, you'll kill me…and if I do tell you, you'll still kill me. Am I right?" The person in the cocoon said calmly.

"We were never told to kill you, but we weren't told to let you live either. Donnie replied as he increased the tension on the bow.

"We both know that you're not going to let go of that string… not before you ask me how I escaped from the company… Am I right?"

Donnie lowered his weapon as the bow slowly fell apart into the hundreds of pieces of paper that had formed it.

"Please tell me how you did it," Donnie begged.

"I was waiting for you to ask that," Dr. Grigori said with a smile. "The reason I was able to leave, was because I discovered a secret. Mr. Smith controls people with fear. As long as you fear him, he has power over you. One day I realized that he was just a man. There was nothing special about him. He has no powers. He has no special abilities. He is just a sad little man who uses others to get him what he wants. After I thought about it for a while, I understood that he had no power over me. I didn't fear him, so I left, and I took my life's work with me."

Donnie raised his arm and the paper pinning Dr. Grigori to the wall flew into his sleeves.

"Thanks, but it was kind of cozy in there. I felt like a caterpillar becoming a chrysalis," The doctor said chucking. "I know why you're here, and I know what Mr. smith would do to you if you failed so…" Dr. Grigori walked over to the many computer monitors and pressed a button on one of the towers. The computer ejected a disk which Dr. Grigori then gave to Donnie.

"Are you sure?" Donnie asked.

"Don't worry, without this, Mr. Smith can never duplicate what I did," Dr. Grigori pointed to a cross shaped necklace around his neck. He took the necklace off and handed it to Stephen. "It's safer in your hands. If you have it, Mr. Smith can't touch it."

Stephen took the necklace and put it on.

"You two better get going. Mr. Smith doesn't like to be kept waiting." The brothers nodded. Donnie placed the disk into his suit case. Then the brothers began to walk towards the door. Once outside, Donnie placed his case on the ground and opened it. An ocean of paper exploded from the case. It swirled around the brothers. The paper began to stick together and the shape of a dragon began to be formed. Once the last piece of paper stuck to the dragon, the brothers climbed on. The dragon began to flap it's wings furiously and started to lift of the ground.

"Don't forget the secret I told you! If you don't fear him, then he has no power over you!" Dr. Grigori yelled from the ground as the dragon began to reach the top of the trees.

As the dragon flew over the many tall trees of the Rainforest, Stephen saw something lying on the forest floor.

"Donnie. Is that a person?!" Stephen pointed to a figure lying next to a tree. Donnie made the dragon descend and began to hover a few feet from the ground. Stephen hopped off and walked over the body. "Donnie. It's the guy from our apartment!"

Donnie made the dragon land. "It is!" Donnie exclaimed. Donnie saw the wounds over Sasha's body. "He needs medical attention now!"

The brothers lifted him onto the paper dragon, and flew towards the nearest hospital. When they arrived, they placed him at the door to the hospital, Stephen fired his gun into the air, and the dragon flew off before anyone could see it or the brothers. Stephen watched as a few nurses carried Sasha inside. Deep down, he hoped he would be okay.


End file.
